Monday, March 09, 2009

Catch Up; February Summary and the Nike+ Milton Keynes Half Marathon

I haven't posted for a little while but I do have lots to report, so please bear with me for the long post!

February Summary

Firstly I need to report on my overall running for the month of February; probably the best way to describe it is 'steady progress' which I am very happy with. I have continued to move forwards; I am definitely getting fitter and faster and my longest run to date now is 15 miles. I feel confident that I have got a steady base with which I will hopefully improve on even further in March. My mileage was pretty much the same as January, although obviously February was a shorter month. I did a total of 76 miles, with 12 hours 4 minutes 2 seconds 'time on my feet'.

In picture views the following is a graph of my running in February:

Milton Keynes Half MarathonYesterday I did the Nike+ Milton Keynes Half Marathon, this was my first race in approximately 5 years, so I was a little nervous and anxious at how it would go. In all honesty I had forgotten the routine and the drill of racing and this did play on my nerves before the race began and I need to apologise to my husband and daughter for being a complete pain during the morning – so, "sorry sweeties and thank you for putting up with me!" Anyway, as with most things that I worry about I needn't have worried at all as it all turned out really well, in fact better than I could have hoped for. I did a reasonable time for my level of fitness at the moment (1:58:07). I was pleased that I was able to finish strong and I ran all the way – I couldn't have asked for any more. The best thing about the race was the feeling that I got at about 7 miles; it was if the old running me had kicked in, I felt the exhilaration that I used to feel when I raced a lot (this was way back between 2001 and 2005!) and this if nothing else was worth battling with the crowds and the windy conditions. In fact I felt on a 'high' but without the drugs or after effects – wonderful!

This has made me feel a lot more confident about next week's race (Silverstone Half Marathon) and hopefully I will be a lot easier to live with because of it ;o)

This morning as I write this I am also pleased to report that I don't feel too achy or stiff; my legs know that they ran yesterday but they don't feel any worse than they normally do after a long run, so this is a very good sign. Some may say "well you didn't push yourself enough then"; which is possibly correct, but after all this race and next week's race are just part of a journey and the end race is the London Marathon so I have to be careful that I don't get carried away and get an injury.

Anyway, a good few weeks and a really good race under my belt, all I have left to say is "why, oh why did I ever stop"...it's wonderful!

2 comments:

Hi Roy, thanks a lot for your comment. Yes, I was really pleased with sub-2hrs especially as I really didn't push myself too much but used it as a training run. This coming Sunday will be interesting too, and if the wind stays away should be a faster course.

Welcome to my blog dedicated to my love of running, walking, and healthy living. A place for me to record and share some memories, sudden insights and some of my training highs and lows! Oh and the occasional photography blog, shared recipe and self development chit chat...